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| Baltic sea |
Three months ago, My girlfriend and I decided
to plan a little trip in the North to go in Scandivia’s landscapes and to do
some bouldering.
After taking fly tickets, we had the certainty
about the trip and I started to think many rocks and new places where to climb.
The fact to have the possibility to climb in new spots is really motivating and
the north Europe isn’t such a frequented area.
So a lot of stuff is new for our eyes, the
sectors are unknown for us and this discovering is one of the most important
things for my bouldering view.
The destination choosen was Vaestervik, a city
three hours south of Stockolm where most part of lines are opened by Stefan
Rasmussen. The Travel was really adventurous for me and Giulia since we just had a
Guidebook from 27crags, but we didn’t know exactly where the boulders were.
Sometimes we took some hours to reach a line and we got lost more times among
the woods. The trip was made more adventurous by the climate, since the week
before a big storm overran the north and we found a great wintry view . Every
lake was iced and in many woods had 50-60 cm of snow upon the ground. Beside
this, the weather was perfect. Every day was completely sunny and crispy, with
temperatures between –2 until 4 degrees and really dry.
I wrote I little diary day by day.
Day 1
We woke up really early, 5.10 AM because flight
time was at 10 AM From Bergamo. My dad carried us at the airport and we took a
large advance to avoid delays, since we should have passed the critical point
before Milan. We arrived in the airport and we had some troubles with our pads
because the flight company didn’t want to consider them as normal bagage. They
are completely mad, as pads were widely in the fair size and the day before I
called them to be sure. After some insists there weren’t anything to do since
the lady on check in didn’t want to change her mind and We had to pay a extra
cost for them. We pass over this thing and we left thinking about Sweden. We
arrived and we took our Toyota Yaris, driving From Nykoping towards Rumma, the
place where we lived.
Just before arriving we stopped in
Bjornblocket, the hourglass zone. We checked it and I was surprised by its
beauty just as I thought. We arrived in Rumma and Immediately, the lady of our
house, got out to give welcome us heartily and to show us the room.
We fastly left Bags and we went to Marstrand.
We parked in the snow and we went up the hill to climb after the long trip. We
found the boulders after some minutes but our feet were already wet and I
realized that the Etnies shoes weren’t not suitable to those lands. After hard
times in warm up I started to have my hands ready for climbing in this cave
with a great granit. I decided to try “animal act”, a cool 8A+ I wanted to try
for long time and I climbed it on my first try. Basically I flashed it but I
previously climbed the 7A on the right, which has the easy exit in common. The
climbing trip started well, I liked the spot, the rock and I felt in a really
good shape. After some attempts on “goofhead variant” we went home tired.
Day 2
knowing Marstrand, we went there again. This
time I had more clothes on and the warm up went better. On first try of the day
I climbed goofhead variant and I moved the pad under “primitive” which starts
stand and the sit was still a project. After some goes I climbed the upper part
and I started to work the move in the sit. It looked hard and I wasn’t able to
touch the pinch after the second hold. The time to “the hourglass” finally
arrived and I was so syked. We arrived under it and I climbed “the office” a
nice arete to the right. After this one I was ready. I knew the Hourglass would
have been my style and I wanted to try it in a flash attempt. I felt really
good, the conditions were perfect and my skin too. I put the pad and I touched
more times the hold with chalk thinking well every kind of move. The videos
were all printed in my mind and I tried. I sat and I knew the the first move
would have been one of the hardest for me, and then it looked quite ok until
the last two ones. When the line was opened the start used the low undercling
and a high sidepull for the left hand. Apart a couple of ascents, I think the
new start version was with the left hand in a lower sidepull. In this case
every climber can start sitting and the shorter can start without double pads.
I did the first move and I tried to take better
the second hold three times until I had it correctly. I went on, I pulled
really hard with my right foot to the second move and I went into the
compression section which passed pretty quietly, reaching the last hold before
the dyno. There, I had a bit of indecision and I saw the lip really far. I
don’t know how but I tried to jump as high as possible and I got the sloper in
my hand. I couldn’t belive. I put my foot up over the edge I did the mantle
which I brushed previously. I was really glad and satisfied. Concerning grade it is not
simple to say in the flash go, in fact I was more for 8A+ than 8B proposed. But
when I tried the single moves for the photos I wasn’t able to do some of them
and I thought that it could be right. Hope to hear some opinions from other
climbers who will climb it.
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| The Hourglass 8B, Bjornblocket. Photo Giulia Paoletti |
Day 3
I opted to get a morning of rest or probably all
day long. We went to check a really famous area called “falla taket” where it
is situated “david or goliah”, a classic I wanted to try during those days. We
left the car in the parking near the horse ranch and we walked into the wood.
The place was great with nice trees and ground was cover by a lot of snow. I
knew there was one km of path to reach the crag but I didnt know where it was.
We got lost and after almost 2 hours of attempts we quitted without having seen
any rocks. We went to Lysingsbadet, a sector on a hill really close to the
camping where it is possible to look out the Baltic sea on the back side. Here
there are 5 blocks with a lot of easy stuff until 7A+, a really good place for
Giulia’s approach. She climbed some hours there, trying a slab and touching her
first rock. In the late afternoon, I felt rested and we decided to check
another sector called VO. The lines which I would have liked to try were
“namaste” and “delirium” since I knew this last would have been dry. To reach
the spot we walked on the ski track which was completely praticabile with
skiing, a nice wintry scenery. I found “Namaste” in front of me completely dry
but the mantle was covered by to snow, which made it impossible to try. We
tried to go on to search “deliruim” but also in this case we weren’t able to
find it and our feet were wet again.
We started to understand that it would have been a
really adventurous trip whit a lot to discovered in unconfortable place. But
this wasn’t so bad, even if a bit nervous though.
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| Giuly on her first rock in Lysingsbadet |
Day 4
It was time to go to the south of this bouldering
area and the plans were to check “Solstadstrom” and “Tunablocket”, two sectors
which have basically one block for each one. We arrived in the first one and
the searching started. The snow made always hard the path but after one hour
and half we reached it although it is close 150 meters to the parking. We
seemed really stupid.
My goals were “awake the unkind”, a fine crimpy
wall put up by Gu, and “le pacte des loups”.
At the first sight, the lines didn’t look possible
with only two pads and I was disappointed, but since we were there it was worth
to try at least. After a fast warm up I felt ready and the climate was perfect:
Sunny, dry and cold. I tried the upper part of “awake the unkind” and I did it
on 1st try without pad’s problem. After some mins I climbed the
whole line from the sit, which didn’t add a lot, In fact I had to try it flash
from there but I was worried for the pads. I also climbed “le pacte des
loups”,“all hope is gone” arete and then we moved towards “Tuna” where Stefan
was waiting for us.
The boulder is really close to gravel road and I
saw it just when I arrived. My
goals for it were “Frost” an 8B established by Stefan and repeated by Gu.
Unfortunatly a principal sidepull for the left hand was wet and I couldn’t use
it to do try the original beta. I tried with another way, still more morpho and
I did every move after one hour, except the last one. After my rest, also the
last crimp started to drop since the top was covered by snow and the sun hit
it. also this crimp wasn’t possible to use.
I figured out another beta, completely different
by the FA and I couldn’t say if it is easier or harder. I fell on the last move
with this sequence and I did after another rest time.
Before leaving, I climbed “hot tuna” a cool arete
which has the start in common with Frost, and “king’s speech” a slighty
overhanging wall completely red with one of the most compact granit I have ever
touched. After some pics in this crazy places, we took the road to Rumma again.
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| Awake the unkind 8A, Solstadstrom. Photo Giulia Paoletti |
Day 5
We were in Lysingsbadet in the morning, to get
profit from the sun and the temperature were ok. Giulia climbed the slab tried
two days before with a great effort in the mantle. Later she tried also another
line which she failed before exit. In the afternoon I reached Stefan in
Marstrand, with the intent to try the big project of “game of shadow”. It was
covered by an icefall, probably with the picks would have been interesting.
We changed the plan and I tried again the sit of
primitive. After some attempts really far to touch the holds, I started to
understand the position to do this big span to the pinch. Stefan said me the
beta tried by other climbers and I changed it a little bit until I finally
grabbed the holds. The move is simply amazing and really particular. I was
really glad to put up a new line in the north. I would have liked to try other
projects there, But having just ten days I have preferred to dedicate my energy
to classics before.
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| Primitive sds 8A+, Marstrand FA. Photo Giulia Paoletti |
Another perfect day under
climate’s aspect. The sky was always clear and every day had an amazing
friction as I have never seen before. The day for Fruberget came and I was
really curious to check this zone. It is the biggest sector of the area, it
counts about 90 lines and the rock looked really good from photos and videos.
We left the car in the southern parking, near the baltic sea. Fruberget sector
is really peculiar, it develops up and down between two hills. The wood is
different in the south side, chestnuts and trees similar to swiss’s country. On
the other side the wood is like Fontainebleau with conifers,moss and pines.
From our guide the boulder’s sector seemed hard to understand in fact we spent
one good hour to find “stora grotta” where there is “cave man” and “Fysyologi”.
This last was one of my goals and the rock in this sector is probably the best
around Vastervik. I climbed it and, although it is a real lowball, the moves
are pretty fun and the rock is beautiful.
In the afternoon I wanted
absolutely find “soulfly” a cave with brick pinches and good features. We left
Fysyologi at half past one and we reached soulfly at five o’clock with a lot of
nervous and the snow until the knees.
When I was under it I was fain to have find this
line and it looked like a great one. I climbed it after some goes but when I
come back home I checked some videos where climbers didn’t use the left
vertical part of the cave for the feet and they went straight in the middle of
the cave. so I came back the day after.
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| Fysyologi 7C, Fruberget. Photo Giulia Paoletti |
Day 7
We came back to Fruberget and I climbed “soulfly”.
Afterwards, Giulia tried a really good 6A but it looked hard and after one hour
she quitted. She climbed for her second time outdoor and she had already
occasion to climb on one of the best kind of rock I have ever seen, I was happy
for her.
In the afternoon I checked again Falla taket but
also this time I got lost.
Day 8
Rest and turism day. We woke up at seven o’clock
in the mornig and we travel three hours towards Stockholm. After having visit a
bit gamla island in the center, we walked for 4 km and we went to visit
“houdini”. It is An awesome roof on another island really close to city center
but at the same time completely isolated in the green near to the baltic sea.
Sick place and cool line with a project on the back side, I hope to come back
with climbing stuff to try it one day. We came back towards Gamla and then we
went home again in the late evening.
Day 9
Last day in Sweden. Stefan was free to carry us to
Falla taket and finally I could see this spot. When we arrived all the crag was
covered by a strong stratum of ice and every exit was impossible. “david and
Goliah” had the last hold totally in the ice and the high snow on the ground
made it really lower than how it appears on the videos. All the spot is good
and many lines to climb looked really fun. When I will come back one day I
would obviously like to come in this classic place to try those problems.
The only one possible was “by the book” although
the exit wasn’t available, it was possible standing up on the last slopery rail
at the top, before the easy slab.
“by the book” is worthy one with a good sequence
of moves. Body tension, strange holds and a knee lock characterized my beta and after a long session I finally crushed
it.
The morning was really cold, probably the coldest
moment of the trip, with the spot completely in the shadow and some fresh wind.
We in fact decided to leave it going in Lysingsbadet where Giulia got other
three lines and fun moments of climbing.
In the late afternoon we went up to the north in
Risebo, where I was attracted By “arcanum” an 8B opened by Gu which seemed
quite good to check. The approach with the car was magical and we saw amazing
natural place tipical of Scandinavia. The road is gravel and the forests close
to it are really thick. When we parked the car we found Arcanum in front of us
and for all the session there haven’t been any kind of noise, just natural
silence which made that really awesome.
The rock on “Arcanum” is not the best, since it
has a strong granit, but the line is really nice and the move to the crimp is
great!
The principal crimp was a bit wet, but I dried it
with a cloth and it stopped to drop. The problem was the mantle since there was
the snow above the jug and it was a bit wet. I did the stand and on the exit I
found some troubles but with the nails on the snow I was able to do it. So I
knew it was possible and I climbed from the sit after few goes. Although I
think that it is easier than the grade, I liked it and the forest around too.
We went home and we began to pack the bagages for
the return.
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| Arcanum 8A, Risebo. Photo Giulia Paoletti |
Day 10
We left early and we went to supermarket for a
fast breakfast. We had to deliver our rental car at 1 o’clock so we would have
had just two hours of climbing. We opted for Forsby, a sector on the way for
the airport. The two hours planned for climbing became time to search some
lines without any succes. We went to nykoping and we flew in the evening saying
“bye bye” to Sweden.
Every return is obviously a bit malinconic. Sweden
experience gave us so much, many natural adventures and really good granit to
grab. I would like to link the site of our B&B close to Gamleby since you
can live there economically and they are really kind. You can also find the link on sidebar. If someone is interested to go there, for sure this B&B is really nice.
In second way, thanks to Stefan who carried me to
iced falla taket although he didn’t climb.
I have to say the biggest thanks to Giulia again
to this fun time. I was impressed by her patience to search boulders and to
stay ten days in cold lands.
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| Risebo |
